The present invention relates generally to devices for securing small valuables to a fixed structure and relates more particularly to such a device which incorporates as a component thereof a conventional padlock.
In the business of selling houses and other properties, it is often necessary for a salesperson to gain access, at different times of the day, to a locked structure or enclosure such as a house, even though the salesperson is not able to conveniently obtain the key to the locked enclosure or, perhaps, is not allowed to keep the key for an extended period of time. For example, it may not be feasible to provide keys to a property to each of the realty agents having access to a cross referencing service, even though any one of these agents may, at a moment's notice, have a potential buyer desiring to see the property. Typically, the agent must waste considerable time to pick up the key for the selected property from the primary listing agent, and then return it to him after viewing the property with a client. It would save considerable time and expense if the key could be secured at the locus of the property in a way that permits authorized agents to gain access to the key, and thereby gain access to the property.
Specialty locks are known which can hold the key of the locked building within a specially constructed lock body. This type of lock is a complicated device having a locking mechanism designed around a cavernous portion wherein a key may be deposited. Although these specialty locks can be effective in locking a key or other small object, and hiding it from external view, their very complexity makes them relatively expensive and prone to failure, and hence, they have not been widely used.